"There was a piece of furniture that, in fact, had a bed bug in it, or a number of bedbugs, so the piece of furniture was removed," said Joanne Grenier, the executive director of management services for Edmonton Public Libraries.

It was the first time bedbugs had been discovered in an Edmonton library, Grenier said. No bedbugs have been found in the Milner library since then.

Bedbugs were also seen in the Sprucewood branch just before Christmas. The pests were discovered in the Londonderry branch a couple of weeks ago.

The library did not notify the public because the risk was considered low, as each outbreak was considered to be minor, Grenier said.

"We didn't feel it was significant enough an issue or unique enough, I guess, to the library, to do a public communication," she said.

The discoveries have prompted library staff to check borrowed materials for bedbugs before they are reshelved.

Grenier said a provincial environmental health officer told her bedbugs tend not to thrive in libraries, as there is no one around for them to bite at night, when they tend to come out.